The Voidwalkers
(Styrásh:
Phár’cár’tuulén’melór of Phár’cár’tuulén’melór
– "Those who walk in the Shadow
of Death")are special servants of Queprur,
the Santharian Goddess of Death, that have given
up virtually their entire being to serve her. As a
result, they end up as something not quite dead, but not quite alive (often
referred to as ‘The Lifeless’). In the process of
giving their life to Queprur, they end up
not wholly dwelling in the physical world, and instead as a dweller of the
Ethereal Void. The existence of
Voidwalkers in present-day is fiercely denied by the
Queprur faithful, and the process itself
is vehemently condemned.

Appearance.
The Voidwalkers are incredibly pale skinned, almost blue in tint, with a ghostly
pallour about them. Their eyes have been drained of almost all colour, and their
irises resemble a pale yellow, blending in with the white of their eyes almost
unnoticeably. Their pupils remain a harsh, mat obsidian black, with no notice of
light in any way. Their eyelids have stretched wide, revealing red rims around
their orbs, in stark contrast to the chalkiness of their visage and eyes. Their
lips are blood red, thin and stretched as if the walker suffers from
consumption. This stretching is an eerie effect that transfers to the rest of
the face, as the cheekbones and forehead poke sharply through the thin, pale
membrane.

The Voidwalkers figure is generally tall, though always sinewy, as though victim
to lack of nutrition. They often wear tight, form-fitting clothing to accentuate
this attribute. Voidwalkers are also uncannily quick, both in step and motion,
and move with an unnatural jerkiness. It is customary to cover their skin almost
from head to toe, leaving only their faces bare. They are commonly seen with
high-collared, waist-length jackets, gloves, and tall boots, always in either
black, or white, the colours of their mistress. Full-fledged Voidwalkers will
have an armband of the polar colour of their jacket, white if wearing a black
jacket, and vice-versa. Novices simply wear a plain white gown with a black
sigil of the Scythe of Queprur.
Initiates and Novices have hair as dark as a moonless midnight, dyed in
reverence to their mistress. The hair of an Acolyte, as well as the full-fledged
Voidwalker is as white as a Cyhallrhim
tower.

Because Queprur is
a deity worshipped mainly by elves and
humans, most Voidwalkers fall in either of
these two races. However, there have been some
dwarves, and in one rare case an orc to be
drafted as Voidwalkers.

Voidwalkers can be both male and female. While the majority of Voidwalkers are
male, if a woman is chosen to undergo the training, she almost always succeeds
in rapid fashion, and therefore women share an equal number of positions of
authority in the Voidwalker ranks.

Coat of Arms/Sign.
The Voidwalkers generally go unheralded, as they belong to an unofficial secret
sect of the priests of
Queprur. However,
if necessary, they have been known (as during SW II), to raise the banner
representing their mistress, the Goddess of
Death, Queprur. On an obsidian black background, a ghostly white Scythe is
displayed.

Territory.
Since Voidwalkers are merely an arm of the much larger Faithful of
Queprur, they
only exist where a hierarchy of the Goddess is already in place. Because the
initiation procedure of Voidwalkers has been deemed inhumane and archaic, there
are thought to be no known pockets of Voidwalker corps in the modern world.

In the past, Thevelin (now
Nyermersys) was known to have a great
contingent of Voidwalkers after the Great Plague (in 602 b.S.), and during SW
II. Although true numbers of this fearful host are impossible to pinpoint, there
have been descriptions, by both elven scholars
and human historians of somewhere between
500-1000 Voidwalkers at one time. Of course, it is unknown how many of these had
completed their training and initiation, as only the Voidwalkers themselves knew
for sure, and much of the knowledge was lost during the ‘Purging of the Void’ in
368 b.S.

Lifestyle.
The lifestyle of a Voidwalker, and those in training, is a harsh, unforgiving
existence. They have no lives but one of training and ritual. The severity of
their training removes any ability to taste, smell, or enjoy food, and indeed,
most decadent pleasures are entirely unappealing. They are completely indentured
to Queprur, and thus never marry, or have any desire to carry on any sort of
romantic liaison. In truth, their consistent dwelling in the
Ethereal Void diminishes their sexual
organs, making men impotent and women barren.

The hierarchy of the Voidwalkers is strict and defined. Novices are obliged to
Initiates, who are likewise servants to Acolytes. Once Acolytes successfully
‘enter the Void’. They are instantly
held in very high esteem among the priests of
Queprur.
Voidwalkers proper have been granted positions of Holy Assassins, and are given
indubitable control over the Voidwalker trainees.

Since the ‘Purging of the Void,’ Voidwalkers have been rare, and are incarnated
in very small groups. Too, since the practice is forbidden, the Voidwalkers have
had to remain secret, and thus, do not figure prominently among the Faithful.
However, because of their literally undying devotion to
Queprur, they are
trusted with the most sacred and important tasks.

It is unknown exactly how long Voidwalkers live in their natural life, but
human Voidwalkers in particular enjoy a much
longer lifespan. Their contact with the
Ethereal Void reduces the toll of natural aging, and thus earns them
extremely extended years. It is also unknown what, precisely, happens when a
Voidwalker finally succumbs to natural causes. It is presumed that their body
somehow dissolves completely into the
Ethereal Void, but what sort of material residue that is left behind remains
a mystery.

Voidwalkers are, in effect, in constant contact with their Goddess; closer than
any but the most devout high priests. As a result, they have no need for the
rituals and motions that most
Queprur priests
practice. Their life is a living testament to their goddess, and they exist only
to serve Her, and they never deviate from this chore.

Initiation Process.
It is rare these days to see Voidwalkers incarnated. However, the art has not
been lost, though the process has been condemned by most of
Queprur’s faithful as barbaric and
inhuman.

Potential Voidwalkers are chosen at the age of thirteen (or 55 for most
elven tribes) and removed from their parents.
When recruiting, priests of Queprur
frequent the schools of their temples, as well as examining the children of
worshippers of Queprur. If the priest can
sense a significant connection with the Rat
Goddess in the child, the parents are told that their child has a special
relationship with the Goddess and must be trained as a priest. Parents loyal to
Queprur are usually honoured that their
child has been chosen to become a divine servant to the
Goddess of Death, and give their child
away to a lifetime of service. Indeed, the harrowing ordeal of actually becoming
a Voidwalker is a secret known only to the high priests of
Queprur. It is unlikely that any parent
would accept such a fate for their child if they knew the hideous details of
training a Voidwalker. If the parent refuses their child admittance, generally
the priests acquiesce to the parents’ position. However, in times of heavy
Voidwalker recruiting, priests have been known to forcibly enter the child into
training.

Hierarchy. The
training of the Voidwalkers can be described in the following steps:

Novices
New recruits are labeled ‘Novices’ and begin training very similar to initiates
of the Queprur priesthood, though it is accelerated to a matter of months.
Novices are given a single white gown, with a black scythe emblazoned on it, and
have their hair dyed jet. Once they learn the basic rituals, prayers and lore of
the Goddess, the real training of the Voidwalkers begins.

Initiates
The students are then called ‘Initiates’ and are forced on a severe fast without
food or water. This practice is of course
extremely demanding, and tortuous, but Initiates are not given the option of
withdrawing once they have accepted the training. After about three days,
Initiates become extremely ill, to the point of death, where they are permitted
to drink water, and are tended to by the
priests, their skin rubbed with sacred preservative oil generally reserved for
corpses, and incantations are uttered, attempting to invoke the spirit of
Queprur within the Initiate. Many
initiates die after the first few days, unable to recover, or come to balance
with the force of Queprur that begins to
exert itself over the initiates. The surviving Initiates are then given a
sacramental feast, with all the water they
can drink, before they are forced into another fast.

This process is repeated, and the duration of the fast lengthened, until the
Initiates can survive a month with only a tiny bit of food and
water each week. During the fasting
process, the Initiates’ skin becomes extremely pale, lacking the necessary
vitamins and nutrients to keep a ‘healthy’ skin shade. Also, the oils and
ointments used on the skin of the Initiates tend to thin the membrane
significantly, lending itself to the stretched, ghastly expression common to all
Voidwalkers. After the ability to fast becomes ingrained, the students are kept
on the diet, but without sleep. This second stage is much more difficult on the
Initiates’ body, but the survival rate is significantly higher than the fasting
stage, as Queprur already has a strong
grasp on the Initiate’s spirit. During this process the Initiates’ eyelids begin
to widen, leaving stretched red-rimmed sockets. Also, the irises drain of
colour, eventually leaving the pale-yellow eyes common to all Voidwalkers.
Initiates' hair, still dyed black, slowly begins to also lose any colour and
tint under the cosmetic. When the Initiate graduates to Acolyte, they are
allowed to stop dying their hair, revealing snow white locks framing a deathly
pale visage. The entire fasting and sleep-deprivation portion of the initiation
lasts about one year.

Acolytes
Once Initiates are able to go long periods without nourishment or respite, they
are named ‘Acolytes’ and a rigorous weapons
training program begins. Acolytes are given a blessed sabre of blackened steel,
and go through training for eighteen hours a day, learning attack forms,
defence, muscle training and endurance. The
sword given to all Voidwalkers is naturally cold, and has life-draining
properties that only Queprur herself
truly understands. It is surmised that the sword
acts as a channel between the real world and the
Netherworlds,
a circuit through the Ethereal Void,
pulling some of the victim’s essence through the
Void. It is
unknown how the sword accomplishes this, and
what, precisely, is the result. Victims of the
sword's edge have been known to describe a deathly
chill flowing through them, followed by a despondent emptiness, a lack of will
to continue challenging both the aggressing Voidwalker, and their attachment to
life.

For the remaining seven hours in the day of an Acolyte, the most horrendous and
agonizing portion of the initiation takes place. The Acolytes are subjected to
horrible, inhuman torture. Queprur
priests, having a close connection with the Goddess of Death, are
able to bring the victims to the brink of death, before ceasing the treatment
and bringing the initiate back to health. The death moment happens several times
in the seven hours, and after about a month’s worth of the treatment, Acolytes
begin to feel ‘light,’ almost like a fog of their former selves. This phenomenon
is explained by the fact that because the Acolytes have spent so much time on
the brink of death, they begin to recognize the
‘Ethereal Void’ in which a soul
travels through on its way to the Netherworlds.

VoidwalkerIn time, usually about ten years after the
Acolyte first began the treatment, they are able to dwell entirely within the
Ethereal Void. Still with a body in
the material world, but in truth, that body becomes mainly a shadow projected
from the Ethereal Void. When this
happens, it is called ‘Entering the Void,’
the training is complete, and the Acolyte becomes a true Voidwalker. They are
given a white armband to wear to signify their rank. Full Voidwalkers are also
permitted to wear full white dress, to differentiate
themselves even further from trainees.

Abilities.
Essentially, Voidwalkers exist with one foot in the material world and one foot
in the realm of
Queprur, the
Netherworlds. They dwell, in effect,
almost entirely in the
Ethereal Void.
This allows them to cheat death, and life, as it were. They require very little
sleep, a couple of hours a week, minimal food, and have seemingly unrelenting
endurance. Because the
Ethereal Void
is a mist over the entire world of Caelereth,
Voidwalkers can ignore the space surrounding them in the material world that
translates into an uncanny quickness, bending the mist of the
Void to move incredibly fast. This is
not displacement, but a kind of fourth-dimensional movement, a tesseract within
the
Ethereal Void.

Full-fledged Voidwalkers are also immune to steel, as steel takes on different,
softer properties within the
Ethereal Void.
Steel passes through accomplished Voidwalkers, as if they were mist, though,
empirically, they are solid. For Acolytes, depending on their level of
initiation, steel could affect them as it would anyone, to very slight injuries,
scratches compared to the slashes a mortal would receive. However, they are
severely vulnerable to glass and bone, as their skin is very thin, and because
such materials transcend the
Ethereal Void,
all of the Voidwalkers’ resilience becomes moot, and their thin skin and
unhealthy flesh are revealed for what they truly are. It is also surmised that
weapons blessed by a water deity may have
deadly power against the Voidwalkers’ immunities.

Because of the incredibly difficult and arduous initiation treatment, there are
very few Voidwalkers proper. These few are the leaders of the Voidwalkers’
corps, and are very dangerous, with unwavering devotion to the
Goddess of Death, and possessors of
terrifying supernatural abilities. The remaining Voidwalker trainees are of
variable power, some with simply the fasting abilities, and some with more of
themselves within the
Ethereal Void.

Myth/Lore.
It is unknown precisely when the incarnation of a Voidwalker was discovered, but
it is thought that Feyronn the Drewynn, the famous assassin that
Queprur herself resurrected after he was
brought to the brink of death and suspended there with torture, until he finally
succumbed to his injuries, could have been the first Voidwalker. Certainly,
Feyronn’s ability to go long periods without food or sleep was legendary, and
Queprur would surely have needed to put
some of her own spirit into the assassin in order to revive him.
Queprur's priests are thought to have
researched the story of Feyronn, and adapted it to create their own holy
warriors.

There was known to be a large number of Voidwalkers during zhe Great Plague of
Thevelin (now
Nyermersys) used as servants by the
priests of Queprur when they cast the
disease out of the town. Because of the Voidwalkers’ unique physique, they were
immune to the plague, and able to mingle with the great unwashed freely,
spreading the blessing of Queprur. Kept
mostly out of sight, after the plague was vanquished and the temple of
Queprur and the
pest-pillar were erected, the
Voidwalkers kept a solid contingent within
Thevelin’s walls.

The Voidwalkers also figured greatly in SW: II, fighting boldly against the
invading elven armies. Their ability to fight
tirelessly, and the fact that they were distributed widely among the armies of
Thevelin, is perceived to be critical to
crushing the elven troops morale. The
elves thought they were fighting a tired,
surprised foe, and instead came upon a veritable, unrelenting ‘shadow of death’.

However, shortly after the great peace forging, the practice and initiation
rituals of the Voidwalkers were exposed, and there was a great backlash within
the priesthood of Queprur. The practice
was deemed inhuman and against the true spirit of the Goddess. Because of the
great pain and suffering all Voidwalkers endured, it was thought that they lost
sense of the ‘balance’ necessary to truly understand, and truly serve
Queprur. The extreme torment was thought
to tarnish the soul, and germinate hatred and despising for all life, considered
a critical flaw in the voiced purpose of the Voidwalkers.

Within the Queprur hierarchy, the priests
in charge of the Voidwalker venture were cast out and banished, and the
Voidwalkers themselves were cast into prison, or, in the case of those who held
positions of authority, were executed in unsympathetic fashion. In an attempt to
rid the Faithful of Queprur of this
growing blemish on her history, many records and scripture concerning the
Voidwalkers were destroyed. These events took place in the year 368 b.s. and
became known as the ‘Purging of the Void.’

The ritual itself for incarnating a Voidwalker was not lost, because it was
considered sacred to Queprur, in respect
for her resurrection of Feyronn the Drewynn. However, it is still considered a
terrible practice, and is not continued.